Monday, September 8, 1997

Needle Exchange: Would encourage drug use

By ROBERT MAGINNIS

For Scripps Howard News Service

A poll conducted recently by the Family Research Council found Americans reject government-funded needle exchanges for drug addicts and prefer focusing on drug abstinence and rehabilitation.

Sixty percent of those polled would tell their representatives in Congress to stop free needle programs and focus on rehabilitation and drug abstinence. Only 27 percent would encourage Congress to fund exchanges.

Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., agrees with the majority, saying, ìOur goal should be to eliminate drug abuse, not to find a cleaner, safer way to do it.î

Gen. Barry McCaffrey, director, Office of National Drug Control Strategy, concurs: ìThe problem is not dirty needles, the problem is heroin addiction.î

Despite opposition by the public and high-profile leaders, pro-needle advocates inside the administration are poised to begin funding exchanges. Under a federal law, the administration can fund exchanges if they are proven to slow the spread of AIDS and donít lead to more drug use.

Sandra Thurman, director of the Office of AIDS Policy, David Satcher, director of the Centers for Disease Control, and Donna Shalala, secretary of health and human services, have all declared their support.

In June, the American Medical Association reversed its position on exchanges, calling them an ìurgent public health need.î Other groups like the National Urban League, the American Public Health Association, and the U.S. Conference of Mayors also support federally funded exchanges.

A 1995 study by a National Research Council panel is often cited by proponents of needle exchanges, but two of the three medical doctors on that panel, Herbert Kleber and Lawrence Brown, say the media exaggerated their findings and that exchanges ìare not the panacea their supporters hope for. The spread of HIV is better combated by the expansion and improvement of drug abuse treatment rather than needle exchange programs, and any government funds should instead be used for that purpose.î

Recent science supports this conclusion. A 1996 study in the British journal The Lancet showed exchange clients are twice as likely to become infected with AIDS as those drug users not in the programs. And a study in the January 1997 Annals of Epidemiology found drug users in needle exchange programs contracted HIV at the same rate as those not in the programs.

James Curtis, director of the Department of Psychiatry at Harlem Hospital Center, believes exchanges ìpromote a breakdown in law and order. They are poor medicine and poor public health practice.î

Sixty-six percent of Americans fear exchanges could lead to drug legalization.

Although 89 percent of Americans are concerned about police-free zones around exchange locations, some law-enforcement organizations have reduced police presence around exchanges to encourage drug addicts to use the services.

Sixty-four percent of Americans believe government-funded exchanges would encourage illegal drug use among teen-agers. California Gov. Pete Wilson agrees and continues to veto bills that would authorize state-funded exchanges.

Americans should be concerned about AIDS prevention, but, until science conclusively shows that government-funded exchanges donít put our 68 million children at risk and endanger our communities, Congress and voters must reject needle giveaways.

Robert Maginnis is a senior policy adviser with the Family Research Council in Washington, D.C.